Contrasting approved uses against actual uses at La Restinga Lagoon National Park, Margarita Island, Venezuela. A GPS and GIS method to improve management plans and rangers coverage

Abstract

Protected areas are the core of efforts to conserve biological diversity and zoning uses, and they are used as a tool for their management. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) have been used to evaluate conflicts between approved uses and actual uses in La Restinga Lagoon National Park in Venezuela (LRLNP). The park (188.6 km2), covers various ecosystems such as coastal lagoons, marine waters and xerophytic vegetation, it is visited by up to 260,000 people visit per year. A GIS, using a base map compiled from 1:25,000 maps was developed. Natural cover was mapped from LANDSAT VII TM images, orthophotomaps and aerial photographs. Spatial use data was collected by field GPS location of any use inside the park during 2 years. Thematic vector maps for each land cover, zoning area, and observed use were created. Maps of zoning and uses were overlapped and new maps for each use-zoning crossing were created. The park contain nine different zoning areas wherein 28 different uses were identified, 18 of them were direct consumptive and non-consumptive uses, occurring on 54% of the park. Tourism transit areas were the most used zones. More than 5,000 people use the park during a high season day. Superimposition of zoning maps with actual use data produced 13 uses taking place in not allowed areas (46% of park area). Most common prohibited use was commercial net fishing, occurring in nearly 40% of the park area. Therefore, identifying human use conflicts and its geographical distribution is a key issue to improve Management Plans as well as identifying hot sites. The GPS-GIS methodology presented here allows Park Rangers to select those areas which could benefit from enhanced supervision with the limited budget available.